Seeking the Truth in Blood Trails

Every day the pop-culture wave of TV shows, like “CSI” and “Law & Order,” transport crime scene investigations out of shrouded police labs into
the light of living rooms. The sky-high ratings and global syndication of shows related to forensic science are signs that many of us are
playing armchair investigators, unraveling our favorite crime-show mysteries for pure entertainment.

I have images in my head that people shouldn’t see. Some of them I will never talk about or show in a class.

While most of us can only suspend reality for an hour, one UT Allied Health Sciences medical technology graduate has been investigating
real-life crime scenes for more than three decades – seeking the truth in blood trails. T. Paulette Sutton, MS, MT, (ASCP), CLS, may not
be recognized by the public, like actors David Caruso and Gary Sinise, but she is known by medical examiners, attorneys and crime scene
investigators as one of the most respected and internationally renowned bloodstain pattern analysts in the world.

Sutton has fashioned one of the most unusual professions ever to emerge from the College of Allied Health Sciences. Time and again she has
been called on to provide expert testimony on bloodstains, teach courses on methods of calculating angles and trajectory, analyze droplet
types, and determine time frames based on blood clotting; far from ordinary work.

“I Just Wanted to Travel”

Sutton’s path from the small town of Obion, Tenn., to gory crime scenes was not born out of a love for blood or forensics, as one might
expect. After attending UT Martin, she entered the Medical Technology program at UTHSC. Her main objective when determining her area of
concentration was simple – “I just wanted to travel,” said Sutton. She chose to pursue a career as an equipment technology specialist,
repairing and installing highly specialized medical equipment across the continent.

Sutton’s post-graduation plan took a detour after a forensics lecture in one of her medical technology classes. The lecture, presented by
Shelby County Medical Examiner’s Office Chief Serologist and UTHSC medical technology graduate Ann Fowler, intrigued Sutton. Just before
graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1976, she became aware of a position at the examiner’s office, which was a division of the
UT Department of Forensic Pathology in Memphis. “The temptation was too great to pass up,” she recalled. “I thought I would just go and
learn about forensics for a while, and then continue on with my original plans.” That did not turn out to be the case.

In 1976, Sutton began what would become a 30-year career at the department as a forensic serologist – collecting, identifying and analyzing
semen, saliva, blood and other types of bodily fluids from crime scenes to assist law enforcement officials in their investigations. Crime
scenes were a far cry from equipment laboratories and the only traveling was to local crime scenes. Nonetheless, Sutton quickly adapted and
excelled in her new field of forensic science.

Expert in the Making

One of Sutton’s techniques involves circling bloodstains that are too small to see without magnification. This process allows her to view the
overall pattern. Photo by Steven A. Symes

Sutton’s medical technology education had honed the skills required to succeed in forensic science: precision and accuracy. Those abilities
were deeply embedded in her work habits. This would uniquely benefit her during a time when the sophisticated testing of today did not
exist. Her skills caught the eye of Jerry Francisco, MD, retired UTHSC Pathology professor, Shelby County’s first medical examiner and
a colleague Sutton credits as being a mentor.

“Paulette’s education in medical technology was a superb base for her career in forensic science,” stated Dr. Francisco. “Besides being a very
bright, innovative and dedicated worker, she was very well trained.”

In addition to collecting and identifying fluids from crime scenes, Dr. Francisco recognized that analyzing and interpreting bloodstains would
be a great service for their department to offer Shelby County, with Sutton as the perfect fit. “I felt strong in supporting a focus or
concentration to stand out from the ordinary. Paulette gravitated to it, and had an invaluable ability to illustrate and communicate her ideas
and techniques, which was a very important asset when presenting evidence to jurors,” explained Dr. Francisco.

Although there was no formal education for bloodstain analysis, with Dr. Francisco’s support, Sutton attended bloodstain analysis courses at
the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory at the invitation of the director Ray Herd. Sutton spent weeks at a time at the lab, a facility
suitable for both living and training.

One of her course instructors in Louisiana was Herbert Leon MacDonell, author of Bloodstain Pattern Interpretation, recognized at the time as
the standard reference book for bloodstain analysis. Dr. MacDonell also agrees with Dr. Francisco’s assessment of Sutton. “Paulette was
intelligent, asked great questions and spoke very well,” he said.

Sutton became fascinated with what she learned from Dr. MacDonell and also credits him as a mentor. The pair lectures together around the
country to this day. “I wanted to accomplish and put into practice what Herb did in his book,” explained Sutton, who was eager to put her
training to use for Dr. Francisco and Shelby County.

In 2006, Sutton provided testimony concerning bloodstains on the altar cloth in the Rev. Gerald Robinson trial in Toledo, Ohio. Robinson (seated on the left) was convicted of the 1980 murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
The trial was covered by Court TV and has spawned three books. Photo by The Blade/Andy Morrison

On the Witness Stand

Upon returning from her training in Louisiana, Sutton provided expert testimony in the hearing of a man accused of stabbing and killing his
mother. It was the first time in Shelby County that bloodstain evidence was used in a conviction. The defendant claimed that his mother’s
blood ended up on his shirt after he found and held her until the authorities arrived. Sutton interpreted the spatter types and locations
on the defendant’s shirt to conclude that he committed the crime. Her determinations were so specific and scientifically sound, that she
also identified the hand he used in the stabbing. The defendant quickly changed his story and pled guilty.

Since then, Sutton has served as an expert witness and consultant for hundreds of state and federal cases as an authority in the fields of
forensic serology, bloodstain pattern analysis and crime scene reconstruction. Her expertise played an integral part in many high-profile
trials, including the “Texas Dragging Death” and the Reverend Gerald Robinson case. She is also involved in the current Phil Specter
trial. To Sutton, the value of her work does not revolve around whether she works for the prosecution or defense – it is in finding the
truth, which often goes beyond science.

Methods of Madness

When blood is shed in a crime, the stains can often scientifically tell the story when a case is void of a witness or confession. Sutton
explained that each case presents a unique set of circumstances that requires critical thinking throughout the entire process. She describes
her art as “one part math (measuring stains and calculating angles), one part physics (fluid behavior) and one part common sense
(applying science to everyday life).”

Sutton stops at nothing when devising means to interpret bloodstains. “Our determinations can be life or death,” she stated. Her analysis
often involves experimentation, such as mixing various environmental elements with blood.

After collecting blood samples, she reconstructs every aspect of the scene to determine why the blood reacted a certain way. In one case her
relentless pursuit of the truth led her to use her own blood to solve a case.

“There was a question of how long blood took to clot, so I recreated the environment using the same temperature and airflow as the scene. I
then drew tubes of blood from my arm, placed it on my skin, and timed how long it took to clot.”

Making a Difference

It doesn’t take long to realize that Sutton and her colleagues come from the opposite mind frame than the killers, whose actions they
reconstruct. “It hurts our feelings,” she stated simply. “I have images in my head that people shouldn’t see. Some of them I will never
talk about or show in a class.” Despite having to see the worst of humanity as a profession, Sutton observed that she, along with her
colleagues, focuses on the science and making a difference.

When asked if there was a crowning moment in her career, one of which she is most proud, Sutton described an event that “took the science
out of it.” She remembered with a somber tone, “I testified in a case of a deputy killed in a squad car. Consequently, the defendant
stopped the trial and pled guilty. The victim’s family approached and thanked me for finding out what happened.” After hesitating for a
moment, she said, “that made it real.”

With a confident look, Sutton proclaimed, “It’s best for my fellow man that we get the right killers off the street.” On the opposite end
of the spectrum, she also makes a difference in the lives and families of those wrongfully accused. Sutton offers her services at no charge
to the Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through
DNA testing and to reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.

Semi-Retired, Busy Author

Sutton retired in 2006 after 30 years as practicing forensic scientist for the UT Department of Forensic Pathology. Even so, she is not far
removed from her calling. She divides her time for hire between consulting and testifying in court cases, and providing numerous seminars
and workshops on the science and math of bloodstains, crime scene documenting and processing, and how to provide testimony. Her classes
conclude with students investigating and presenting theories to Sutton from her mock crime scenes. Some of Sutton’s clients include the
Bloodstain Evidence Institute, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Italian Carabinieri and the United States Marine Corps.

In 2005, she and her colleagues Stuart James and Paul Kish, authored Principles of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Theory and Practice published
by CRC Press. It is the first bloodstain pattern book presenting dramatic, full-color images of bloodletting injuries, bloodstains and crime
scenes.

Orange Through and Through

UT has always been a part of Sutton’s career and close to her heart…and her belongings.
Sutton proudly displays the orange “T” sports logo on just about anything she can fit one on, including the laptop she uses while lecturing.
“This goes over big when I teach in Arkansas,” she says with a smile.

In addition to her role in the UT Department of Forensic Pathology, she was also an instructor at the UTHSC Colleges of Allied Health
Sciences, Medicine and Nursing and at the National Forensic Academy, UT Knoxville. Sutton never hesitates to present one of her educational
and often humorous workshops to the medical technology students in the College of Allied Health Sciences Clinical Laboratory Sciences program.
“I would not have gotten this far had it not been for the med tech program at UT.”